The Children's Revolution
by The Reflecting Bird
Summary: Join Heath and his friends in his adventure to change the way school is looked at... forever. Satire of modern education.


**Author's Notes: **Sorry if you came in with high expectations, but you probably won't be rolling on the ground laughing after reading this. I try to be more witty than really "funny", though I can't even promise that you will find it even that. And no, I'll tell you beforehand that I don't hate children (I assure you that many will think that after reading this). Nor do I hate teachers (I've had some _superb_ teachers over the year). This is seen as an overall representation. It's over the top, but this is very much a satire. While it's sending a message, I hope you can find some truth in it regardless of your political views.

Another thing to note is the description of the school. In Animal Parade, the interior of the schoolhouse does not match the exterior. For this reason, this story will kind of make a mixture of the two. I'm also a bit busy, so I may have made some grammatical mistakes... please point them out if you can! Enjoy!

* * *

The Children's Revolution

Read any ancient narrative of important events. Or just look up some Shakespeare on the Internet. I haven't done so myself, but I remember from my childhood when I was at my Mema's house on the mountain that she was talking about that guy with my Mom. My sister was trying to teach me the cloning glitch on my Pokémon Gold at the time, but I was still able to eavesdrop on the conversation. Anyways, what I got from it is that great occasions and great people are always marked by notable weather- whether it be unusually hot, cold, dark, bright, stormy, or serene.

I'm not disinclined against believing that this extraordinary phenomenon is often true, but it must be admitted that there was nothing out of the typical that day. The morning was bright and warm enough, but there was a hint of the cool weather rapidly approaching, suggested by a slight chill in the breeze lifting off of the ocean. It was mid autumn- that time of the year when the initial pain of school's return lulls off into a numbing grind.

Still, the confidence of some remarkable people cannot be shaken by such trivialities like mid autumn. This was the case with Heath of Castanet (He is the hero of this story!), the witty boy with the green hair and a pith helmet.

The morning dew of the grass lining the trail towards Kasey's ranch was disturbed as Heath passed by, having rolled an apple core into it. Normally he would have eaten it at home, but his mother had woken him up two minutes later than usual. This, coupled with Heath having one of the furthest walks to school, forced his hand to eat on the go. It was ultimately a noble gesture to leave the core lying there, as he had been told that birds liked nibbling on them. The chocolate pudding cup he ate with the apple and the necessary spoon were disposed a little further down the road, near the river.

Heath turned off this inland road where it met with the path that runs along the oceanfront. This led directly towards Harmonica Town, where Heath and his seven classmates attended elementary school. It was the only school on all of Castanet- all the children of the island went there with the exception of Chloe and Paolo, who had graduated and moved on to homeschooling.

It is at this point that we should mention some of Heath's fellow students. The first that he would encounter that morning, about halfway between Kasey's ranch and Harmonica Town, was Angie. She lived out further down the coast, perhaps a little longer of a walk than Heath's. Angie wasn't so bad, but she was a tad quiet. Heath walked alongside her for a few steps out of an obligation to acknowledge her. She walked slowly, though, struggling with her school supplies. Angie had all the necessary equipment of an elementary student- a small homemade jacket knit by her mom for show and tell, a multiplication table for arithmetic, an apple for snack time, basic arts and crafts equipment (crayons, markers, colored pencils, tape, scissors, and a glue stick), a notebook for writing, a notebook for spelling, a notebook for grammar, a notebook for vocabulary- well, you get the picture. At least the actual textbooks were kept at the school, as were some basic utensils (Angie just brought her own for some reason). Heath thought about helping her with the supplies, but he was too anxious about what might happen if he talked to her. She might drop all her belongings in surprise or give him that mean face that shy people make or not even hear him at all. So, he just shrugged the dilemma off and passed on.

Now, you might ask why Heath wasn't encountering a similar problem. Let's vindicate our hero. Heath and his friend Roy had decided at the beginning of the year that instead of needlessly dragging around the school supplies, they could just share those of whomever they were sitting by. All Heath had with him was a chunk of salt that his dad had pulled from the mine and a solid bundle of green grapes.

I recently mentioned Heath's friend Roy. If Heath was the brains, Roy was his brawn. The two lived just a stone's throw away from each other- they would know from experience. Heath usually tried to walk to school with him, but he had to play catch up that morning. He overtook Roy just as they were crossing the last bridge into town.

"What took you so long this morning, Heath?" Roy asked as his friend threw an arm around his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. My mom woke me up late. There wasn't anything I could do about it. You can't trust those parents, can you?" Roy shook his head "no" in agreement.

"However," Heath continued with a mischievous smile, "This extra sleep has got me all excited. We're going to do something today, Roy. Something adventurous."

Roy frowned glumly. "Don't count on it. We won't have time for anything fun. It's Thursday, which means we'll have to write out each of our spelling words out three whole times for homework… correctly, too!"

Heath had forgotten about that weekly assignment, but he didn't want to embarrass himself in front Roy. He had seen his friend do it too many times to ever want experiencing it himself.

"Of course I know that, silly. But I'll think of something all the same…. Something great."

Roy still doubted him, but he didn't say anything as they entered the schoolhouse. Heath took his usual seat- right side, middle row. Roy sat to his left so the two could exchange facial expressions whenever they would hear something funny. A rather weary boy named Matt sat behind Heath. As Matt was usually sleeping, he could borrow his materials without anyone noticing.

We can take this opportunity to fully delve into the arrangement of each student. The classroom consisted of three rows of three chairs. Angie would sit front and center once she arrived, patiently waiting for class to start. To her left was Van. As usual, he was reading a book with a bored expression on his face. No one used the front right seat, as this was closest to the teacher's desk. On the second row, from left to right, were Dakota, Roy, and, of course, Heath.

Lucy, for whatever reason, apparently had the freedom to choose whatever desk she wanted every day. Consequently, she got to take the coveted back left. To her right sat Vivian in her miniature throne. Vivian had a preference for this spot as the sun frequently peeked in through one of the windows in such a way that the rays shone directly on her desk, making her seemingly brighter than everyone else. It's too bad she hadn't thought that no would really notice since she was sitting in the back. And, as we've already mentioned, Matt was in the back corner, just barely avoiding the light that illuminated Vivian.

Angie ended up being late that morning, probably after having scattered her belongings all over the road. Thankfully, her teacher was even more so. We mind as well refer to this teacher as Gill.

Gill was Vivian's father, and the two came in that morning together last. Gill combed his hair with the assistance of a small mirror he kept in his pocket before clearing his throat to speak. Heath didn't know why he even bothered to try combing it, because there was always one hair that stuck up no matter what (Roy had creatively nicknamed him "Pointy Hair").

"Good morning, children."

"Good morning, Mr. Gill," the class responded in monotone. Well, all but Matt, who had already fallen asleep while waiting for Gill to show up.

"I apologize for being late, class," Gill continued disinterestedly, "Someone had misplaced my eye drops. We'll just have to cut show and tell short by about six minutes and twenty-one seconds. Van, you can start us off."

Van adjusted his glasses before walking to the front of the classroom. Once again, he brought a bottle of some variety of medicine that his father and grandmother had helped him make. I won't bother trying to explain how it works- it's not pertinent to this story. And thus they continued around the room- Angie's mom's jacket, Dakota's father's cheesecake, Roy's father's smelted silver bar, Heath's father's salt, Lucy's mother's tropical fruit drink, and Vivian's mother's doll. Show and tell's time expired before they could reach Matt.

At precisely eight forty-five, the class began spelling. They had all of this period to start working on that terrible homework assignment. Gill, in the meantime, continued to try smoothing his hair. There wasn't enough time to make much progress on the homework- only Van and Angie were able to complete it before Gill began arithmetic. At this time, students were expected to volunteer to test their multiplication skills in front of the teacher. Only four volunteers were necessary for the class to receive full participation credit.

Van sighed as he immediately stood up to go first. He did not do so because he loved doing multiplication for the class; he just wanted to read his book for the rest of the period uninterrupted. He responded to each question both briefly and correctly before returning to his seat.

Dakota went second, primarily because it gave her an excuse to talk. She managed to get a couple of the questions right by guessing, earning her a sticker with a star exclaiming, "You're awesome!" from Gill for making progress. Dakota was well liked by the class for always making the hard choice to volunteer.

She was shortly followed by Angie, who had been intently memorizing her multiplication table until her opportunity came up. She eagerly set her table down on her desk and proudly recited her 6*7s, 9*8s, and 12*3s, and 11*4s. Gill was so impressed by her memorization that he asked what thirteen multiplied by two was. Angie opened her mouth in shock and returned to her chair with tears running down her check whimpering that she couldn't possibly know because thirteen wasn't included on the table.

Heath and Roy glanced at each other and snickered softly about her disappointment. Heath, though, being the hero, quickly regretted his initial amusement at her unjust humiliation. To make up for it, he elected to be the final volunteer of the day. He did well, though he fell a few short of perfection.

Ten-fifteen heralded the arrival of the long-awaited snack time. Outside of recess and lunch, this was the greatest degree of liberation the students would experience until school ended for the day. The students celebrated daily by pushing their desks together to form one large table. Everyone excluding Van and Angie participated. No one actually knew if they were allowed to do it or not. One argument that they probably weren't was brought up by Dakota the prior school year. This was that Angie and Van were always given a sticker at ten-thirty every day. Angie would wear this proudly, while Van just shrugged it off (however, if you looked, you could find neat rows of stars lined up on the bottom of Van's desk that he occasionally gloated over in privacy). With the evidence condemning their actions being ambiguous at best, though, they proceeded with the practice.

Snack time was one of the more fascinating times of the day. For instance, it was one of the few occasions where Matt was awake and able to socialize. Also, it demonstrated the wide variety of diets the students embodied, ranging from pop tarts, to cake pops, to cupcakes, to actual cakes. The conversations were also stimulating. There are few better examples of this than the day that I am relating.

Despite the general silence throughout the classes that morning, the news of Heath's plan had permeated around the room. Vivian was the first to speak of it; this is probably because she spoke while most of the children were preparing for their first bite. Vivian was in fact the only student who never ate during snack time- it was far too messy for her.

"So," she said, with her posture in perfect harmony with the chair, "I've heard you have plans to cancel school." She was glaring directly at Heath, who had just caught his first grape in his mouth after throwing it in the air. Thankfully, her voice had a low register, so Gill never heard a word. Everyone else whispered to ensure their safety.

Heath had in fact never said anything suggesting canceling school, but it was a good idea. "I guess you can say that. I'm still working on some of the details… but I've got a general outline." Most of their faces shone in delight.

"When, where, how?" Lucy could barely contain her excitement. Heath raised his finger, ordering them to keep their voices down.

"The perfect time to strike is during lunch break. We'll lure Gill out and then we will barricade ourselves inside. Then we'll have our chance to destroy all the books in the school. That way, there is no way we can ever have school again!"

"How… how long we will be in here?" Matt asked between yawns.

"… The whole night."

The gravity of coming events settled on these young men and women. This was going to be unlike any other prank before- this was a commitment. In the face of a great challenge, many will balk in fear. All would need to rely on the mind of Heath to hope for success. There was no way of knowing who would stand by Heath's side when the time came. Roy nodded his head in admiration, but no one would actually be able to verbally commit before Gill came over to the communal table. Some worried that they had been overheard. Thankfully, Gill just wanted to converse with his daughter about how beautiful her outfit looked that morning.

This pandering would go on until snack time had ended, cutting the conversation short. Fortunately, things were looking uphill towards lunch. Science class was the typical bore, but at least this was followed up by the best of the bunch- history. Why? History always featured a guest teacher- everyone's favorite. This person just happened to be Calvin, Heath's father. Heath knew that his dad had a passion for children.

Many of the students, Heath included, jumped and cheered as soon as Calvin came bursting through the door. Within seconds, he was completely surrounded by the kids who had rushed to him at the sight of his silhouette in the door frame. As customary, he lifted Lucy and Dakota while they hung onto his forearm, resulting in two fits of giggles.

Calvin slowly lowered them back down and began his approach to the front of the room. He made sure to rub Heath's hair as he passed (Heath had taken his helmet off in order to prepare for this daily chore). Gill and Calvin talked briefly before Gill took a seat at his desk to look at papers while Calvin turned to the students.

The class and the teacher chatted with each other for a solid ten minutes about important things like the weather, the texture of the beach's sand, and the upcoming festival. They only stopped after Gill's insistent, "Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking" got loud enough to be audible over the multitude of voices. Calvin finally looked to him.

"It's time for history class," Gill expanded.

Calvin nodded in response. "… Very well." Calvin looked to the kids and made a silly face in mockery of Gill, earning laughter from all of them not named Angie or Vivian (even Van had chuckled to himself).

The guest teacher wasted no time getting to class, though. He directed the students to a map that hung on the right wall of the classroom. He walked towards it as he spoke.

"This… kids… is Earth. It's a pretty big world, isn't?"

"It's also upside-down," Van added with a tinge of sarcasm. By that, he was probably noting that the map was in fact not facing the direction that you would typically see it.

Calvin gave a hearty laugh in response. He made dramatic hand motions as he developed his counterargument.

"It's not upside down, Van! It's just a matter of how you look at it. See, what if we looked at it while standing on our heads?" He got down and did so in an impressive display of strength. "See? It's all how you look at things! It's just a matter of perspective. Anything can be true if you look at it the right way. The world is a place of wondrous imagination. Don't you agree, my son?"

The children turned to Heath in curiosity. Heath had, in fact, recently joined his father on a trip across the ocean. None of the others had ever left yet.

"It's true," Heath agreed. "It's so different. Dad even took me on a visit to a school out there. They're like… crazy good at math!" Everyone smiled in wonder. "… I did see a kid get detention, though."

The moment quickly evaporated as most decided that the world wasn't such a charming place after all. Calvin ignored this altogether. "Good word, Heath! History really is a fascinating subject. I'm glad you all enjoyed today's class."

This misdirection worked, as they quickly forgot about the unpleasantness of detention. The kids were satisfied with what they had- an excellent teacher in Calvin.

The high energy in the building kept up in the talk that continued up until Gill called for lunch time. Everyone waved as Calvin grabbed his jacket and tipped his hat goodbye. It was always a magical sight.

Lunch heralded the same table arrangement that was seen during snack time. The only difference was that Angie and Van sat together by themselves instead of alone.

Heath's friends looked at him in anticipation as Gill laid out upon paper plates a meal of warm, floppy hamburgers and delicious, oily fries that had been heated up. An apple was included so it would be healthy. Heath, though, was in no hurry to make plans. The timing had to be perfect. He also had to assess the loyalty of his supposed co perpetrators. Roy and Lucy were locks. Dakota would side with the majority. The rest were more worrisome.

"Gill, could you open the door?" Heath blurted out unexpectedly. "It's really hot in here."

Lucy and Dakota looked at each other in disappointment, thinking this was the climax of the plan. What would Heath do, push Gill out of the door? Little did they know just how ingenious Heath's trap was.

Matt and Angie may not assist, he thought, but they would not do anything to stop him, either. Van was a threat that had to be taken care of- that much was assured.

That left Vivian. He gazed into her eyes questioningly as he thought (Dakota noticed this and whispered to her that Heath must be in love). While Vivian had been the first person to mention Heath's plan, she had seemed rather distant about the proposition. School, for her, was an opportunity to model clothes and manners- a rebellion had no part in that. She hadn't said anything yet, but she could tattle to her father at any moment.

Heath had decided. Not only was keeping Vivian a gamble- she made a perfect target.

Our hero had been sitting on the opposite side of Vivian, facing towards the door. Heath only muttered to Roy, "Get the windows when it's time" before, with little warning, he swept his arm across the table and knocked Vivian's apple right onto the floor. After two bounces, it proceeded to roll out of the door, down the stairs, and into the street.

"Heath threw my apple off the table!" Vivian said while waving her hand towards Gill. Her voice suggested whining, but she kept it low enough that it didn't sound unrestrained.

"Heath-." Gill began.

"- I didn't do! She… she framed me…" Heath's lip quivered as if he was about to break down in tears.

Gill pursed his lips. He was partial to believing his daughter's story, but he also feared reprimanding the young boy. At a conflict of interests, he simply didn't make a decision.

"Alright, then. This was clearly an accident. Now let's get along. How about you both get the apple together?"

Heath returned Lucy's mischievous smile that had come to her face when she realized that this was what Heath had been preparing for. Vivian groaned as she stood, straightening her skirt. "Alright, boger hair, let's go." She winced as she realized she said something unmannered.

"As you wish, grandma hair."

Heath pondered about how clever his comeback was until they stood above where the apple had finally come to a rest, a good quarter of a football field down the hill.

"Well, Heath, you've got a mean arm, I'll give you that."

Heath looked down in embarrassment at the word "mean," knowing what was about to come next. But a hero knows that the need of the many outweighs the need of the few.

"Vivian… it's nothing personal, really. Please forgive me."

"What are you ta-… heyy!"

All it took was a moderate push against Vivian's side to bump her onto the ground. Heath had already reached the school's doorway before Vivian could even clumsily stand back up.

"Mr. Gill! Vivian fell down on the road! I think she's hurt!"

Gill gasped before curtly brushing Heath aside and jumping straight into the street.

"Van! Your dad's a doctor! Help him out!" Heath added.

Van didn't have time to actually process what was going on; rather, he simply did what he was told. Heath waited until Van had cleared the doorway before slamming the door shut.

"Now, now, now!" he shouted. "Lucy, Dakota, help me move this cabinet!"

"This cabinet" was that used to store all of the school's textbooks. It was rather heavy, but the three were able to slide it across the door working together. They were just in time, as the people outside were banging against the door, realizing their mistake.

"Students, please open this door!" said someone with Gill's voice. All he got in response was a derogatory "phfffffffft!" sound effect from Dakota (complemented by her sticking her tongue out and sticking her fingers in her ears).

Lucy and Heath added three of the desks in the room, including Gill's large one, to the barricade while Roy jammed the windows shut using two coat hangers that adorned the back left wall. To get through the windows, the adults would have to break the panes, which everyone knew wouldn't happen. The broken glass might hurt the children.

Heath nodded in satisfaction as he observed this work. He shuddered, though, when he saw the door that led to the back hallway near Gill's desk (or where it used to be). Instead of barking out orders, he took care of it himself.

This hallway consisted of another door to a single toilet bathroom used by the students and a storage space for various school paraphernalia. Behind the clutter was a single window that overlook the mayor's office. The parents might not initially think of using it, but Heath knew that it was a matter of time before this weakness was exploited. Thankfully, he managed to jam this one as well using a stool that sat not far from Van's desk.

Heath rejoined the others in the main room to assess the current status of the revolution. Angie still sat at her desk, eyes wide in surprise. Matt had already set his head back down to go to sleep, having seen enough action to decide that it didn't bother him. The last four, though, stood in circle near the front door blockade. There were now more voices insisting that the kids open the door from outside. This only made them break out in laughter. A good, relaxed laugh.

"Well, Heath… I think you actually did it," said Lucy between bellows. "I don't believe it."

Heath nodded. "We have the situation stabilized… but we have much to do before this is over. We have to make sure that this boring school is done in for good!" The other three cheered in unison.

* * *

Any leader knows that one cannot lower his guard even after initial success. The first priority was to strengthen the existing defenses. While there was more talk than action going on outside, the rest of the spare desks were eventually consolidated to the front door. The diplomatic approach led by the adults was simply ignored by the revolutionaries. There were no negotiations to be had.

Another concern was that those outside could watch what was going in the schoolhouse by looking through the windows. This was simply awkward. One window was blocked off by an enormous cabinet that had been previously left alone due to its weight. The four working together eventually moved it into place after a taking a couple of rest breaks. The other window was only covered by the world map as they had run out of more substantial furniture to use.

The biggest hiccups, though, were the other two kids still in the room that weren't really getting involved. Matt started to become a nuisance after Lucy woke him up so she could take the desk he was slouched over.

"But… hey, give that back… I'm sleeping."

"Well," Lucy replied, "you'll just have to sleep without it."

"I… the floor isn't very comfortable."

Heath, always the voice of reason, took a more tactful approach. He shook Matt by the shoulder.

"Matt… how comfortable is this desk compared to your bed?"

"Not very."

The boy with the pith helmet smiled. "As I expected. You see, if you help us out, you'll never have to sleep here at school again. We just need your desk and cooperation."

Heath's plan worked, and Matt became a valuable ally. Now that he actually had something worth fighting for, Matt suddenly wasn't so sleepy.

Sadly, there was nothing that could be done with Angie. There was no speaking reason over the constant wail of her crying.

"I don't want to be here! Cousin Vivian didn't stay! I shouldn't be here!" She set this track to a continual loop with only minor variations in the syntax. Lucy finally had enough about two hours into the rebellion.

"Shut up already, Angie! If you be quiet, I'll get you out of here!"

Heath didn't comment on the matter, as while he didn't want to admit that he was involved in the loss of a revolutionary, he knew Angie was a lost cause. Angie obeyed by nodding and ceasing the crying.

Lucy pulled the map off guarding one of the windows and scanned outside to make sure the coast was clear. When she was sure that they were safe, she freed the window, opened it up, and guided Angie outside. Once Angie was firmly on her feet, Lucy quickly restored the barricade to its original state. The problem of Angie was solved, though they were now down to five kids. Also, it was inevitable that the parents would guard the windows more closely after witnessing this brief moment of opportunity on that front.

Despite this, the state of affairs were now favorable enough that Heath and the others could finally stop worrying about what was going on outside and focus on the task at hand- ending school.

Heath rubbed his hands in delight. "Let's make a mess!" Lucy squealed in delight.

The first things to go were the dreaded dull textbooks, immediately followed by the notebooks. The sink in the bathroom was filled with water and plugged closed. In pairs, books were soaked in this bath for thirty seconds before tossing them into the trashcan. Eventually, a haphazard pile grew around this pitiful garbage disposal that was simply too small to handle the load. Heath dumped the books while Dakota counted time, Lucy and Roy transported books to the bathroom, and Matt scanned the schoolhouse for books that were stuffed in unusual locations. This process took over an hour to accomplish. The only book spared was that owned by Van, making sure not to antagonize him in the future.

Next were the writing utensils. While Roy suggested they simply snap the pencils in half, Matt noted that broken pencils are still useable and even frequently utilized. Heath designed a more torturous end for these hand crampers: death by pencil sharpener. What do I mean by this? They simply shoved the pencils into the sharpener until they were ground down to near nothing and then crushed underfoot.

Erasers were dispatched in analogous fashion. The girls made faces on the floor consisting of rubber trails while the boys raced to see who could scrub away an eraser the fastest.

Then came the pens. This offered a relief from the rest of the hard labor. Everyone knows the diverse uses of a pen. The outer plastic shells were chewed on like a piece of gum. Roy and Heath had a competition to see who punch or slice through them using rulers. The inner shell containing the ink was good for testing how far one could bend it before it would break. Once again, a competition arose- measuring how far one could flick these across the room. Matt even used his fingers to set up a small goalpost. All five of them had at least some amount of ink on their hands or clothes by the time they had finished the last of these.

The fun, though, had its toll on the children. Dakota was the first one to voice the inconvenient truth.

"… I'm hungry."

The others were lying on the floor around her in total exhaustion.

"Me too," Roy chimed in.

Matt brought up another point that everyone could agree on. "But I don't want any of that stupid snack food in the storeroom."

Heath stood up confidently. "Fine. We'll need an expeditionary team to go plunder some booty from the inn. I'll do it!"

Besides Matt, everyone jumped up in scorn of this proposal.

"Hey! Why, you?!"

"I want to come!"

"Says you!" (Lucy had two redundant statements to make)

"But I know where all the good stuff is!"

This last exclamation came from the lips of Dakota. The logic of her argument was sound.

"Well… alright. Dakota, you can come. The rest of you, though, stay here. Roy, you take charge until I get back."

Heath put a hand on Roy's shoulder and said quietly, "And don't be afraid to do what you have to do if I don't make it back." Roy nodded gravely. Heath patted him a couple times to clarify that he still had every intention of success.

Afraid that the windows in the classroom would be under surveillance, the children snuck into the storeroom. This window overlooked the roof of the town hall. As no one outside of the children would stand on the ceiling in waiting, they would be clear to get out. The main problem was making sure to not be seen once outside.

The others watched solemnly as Heath and Dakota took their places on opposite sides of the window. Heath gave one last salute (which the others returned) before removing the stool and pushing up the lower pane.

Heath stuck his head out to get an idea of how they could slip through the adult defenses. Dakota's mother was guarding the front door, but she had her back turned, sitting in a chair reading some sort of magazine. Heath gingerly took a step onto the town hall's roof as Dakota scaled the window.

They immediately hoped down to ground level on their right- this offered the best protection in the form of the side of the town hall and the overlook that the schoolroom was situated on.

Heath was about to take another step out when Dakota grabbed him by the arm. Not far away, Vivian's mother opened the door to the tailor shop and came out fuming. Thankfully, she walked the opposite direction towards the lighthouse.

The only other people out were Matt's parents fishing, but they were far too engaged in small talk to notice the light steps of two children passing behind them. Heath was actually a little angry that there weren't more obstacles- this offered little excitement.

Though the precautions were probably unnecessary, Heath and Dakota took the most secure route possible. After quickly leaping across the road that leads towards the church (the same one that the apple had rolled onto), the two fugitives slid up to the façade of the tailor's. On a count of three, the two went to their knees and crawled under the front windows to stay out of sight. Once clear of this, they darted between this building and the adjacent canal that cut through the heart of the town. This waterway and the next level of the terraced town were the only things blocking our heroes from the inn.

By using a nearby railing to give him the needed height boost, Heath was able to pull himself up on the bridge on the upper terrace that passed over the canal within a matter of seconds. Heath aided Dakota by lifting her up the last couple feet as she lacked the upper arm strength.

"Heath, my shoe fell of-."

"Shh!" Heath hissed back. He then said in a lower tone. "Take us straight to the stash. I'll check the room for baddies."

The two tipped-toed across the bridge to the inn. After checking the window and deciding that the room was devoid of human life, Heath gave Dakota a thumbs up. The female rebel cracked the door open only far enough to allow the two to slip inside.

Heath kept a lookout at the window while Dakota pilfered the kitchen cabinets, freezer, and refrigerator.

"Hmm…. I've never been a big fan of that… Lucy told me once that she doesn't like Italian food… Well, perhaps we should consider this her-."

"Dakota!" Heath finally grumbled in exasperation. "We aren't putting together a Harmony Day meal! Just get the candy and go!"

Dakota quickened her pace as Heath had asked, but she made sure to throw in some of her own personal choices (mostly anything related to chestnuts) along with all of the sweets. Heath gave her a couple picnic baskets which they then dumped the food in. All of it ended up as a mangled mess of what was once individual dishes, but neither of them cared. You can't always expect pound cake when you're in the middle of a revolution.

Sometimes, even the greatest of plans fall victim to circumstances of the actual execution. In the joy of the moment, Dakota forgot to look both ways before opening the door that led out of the inn. Heath's blood ran cold when he heard someone to their right yell, "Hey!"

Heath didn't even turn to see who it was before grabbing Dakota by the arm and shouting that it was time to run.

Over the sound of their bounding feet, Heath could hear that other voices were joining in on the one that had originally exposed them. This only prompted him to run at a pace he never realized he could make.

Heath beat Dakota back to the town hall by only a couple steps, but he was much quicker in leaping up to the roof with the assistance of a sign that stood on the road next to the wall. He bent over the edge to help Dakota up.

"Quick! Hand me the food so I can grab your hands!"

Dakota did so, but it was not enough to save her. Heath was only able to grab her hands and lift her a few inches off of the ground before Dakota's mother had wrapped her arms around her legs. Her mother's voice was that of pleading.

"Don't do this, baby! It's dangerous!"

Heath had only a moment to consider. Could he pull Dakota up, or would her mother drag them both to the ground if he tried to help? Heath then recalled those important words once again- the need of the many comes before the need of the few.

"Sorry!" was all Heath could spit out before he gently allowed Dakota to be lowered back down to the ground. He couldn't watch what would follow for someone who had been such a loyal friend, so he immediately grabbed the baskets and made way to the window. Roy was already there ready to open it.

"- Dako-"

"I'll get to it, just let me get settled!"

While Roy reset the window defense, Heath laid the food in the middle of the classroom floor. The other three remaining students gathered around to listen to his report.

"… We accomplished our objective. But Dakota fell behind. She was captured."

All looked to the clock to take note of the time. Six thirty-seven. A spontaneous moment of silence honoring her ensued.

At six thirty-eight, the kids dug into their meal of powdery, chocolatey, peanuty, icingy, and chestnutty bakery. All agreed that this elegant mixture greatly exemplified the spirit of the revolution. Little did they know, but Dakota was also joining in on the sugar rush- her father had baked her a dish of cookies for leaving the revolution early.

Not much remains to be said of that night. Games followed dinner, discussion followed games, and sleep followed discussion. The four huddled around each other in the storage closet to sleep, as this somehow made them feel more comfortable than the wide open room. The last thing Heath was heard saying before falling asleep was, "we really did it."

* * *

What follows is difficult to pen. Those with the greatest ideals are often opposed by the harshest of antagonists. While the revolution fell at seven forty-nine that next morning, its purpose would forever change the whole face of Castanet. While I would rather pass over these details, some may consider it relevant to the events that follow after it.

Heath and Lucy were already awake that last Friday morning, discussing when the barricade should be lowered. They came to the agreement that it should be done that very day once the typical school hours would have ended. This would ensure that they would be walking out into the freedom of the approaching weekend. As they stood up to see if Roy or Matt had woken up, though, they were interrupted by a knocking sound at the window covered by the map. After removing the tape that held the map up, the two were astonished to witness Dakota knocking at the window.

"Dakota!" Lucy exclaimed automatically.

"Yes, yes, it's me! And what an adventure I have to tell you! I was able to escape!"

Without thinking, Heath removed the coat hanger and threw up the sash.

To his surprise, though, another figure not called Dakota stuck a hand in from around the corner and jumped inside. Before Heath could object, Van immediately began the process of pulling down all the desks and chairs that blocked the main entry.

Heath finally managed to stutter out a few words. "Dakota… you… you betrayed us!"

Dakota shook her head in personal disgrace. "Sorry, Heath. Van offered me a cupcake if I helped him get back inside."

That brought his attention back to the child who had by now cleared the way to opening the door.

"I've got the school open!" Van called out unenthusiastically, apparently to no one.

Lucy pointed to Van in anger. "You! You want us to go back to school! Well, too bad! You're too late."

Van rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous," he said as he looked around the barren classroom. He finished his statement after he located and picked up a belonging of his.

"I just wanted my book back."

Within a few minutes, Angie arrived as if anticipating another normal day of school. She shrugged when she saw that the barricade was no more.

At eight o' seven, Gill (alongside Vivian) stumbled into the room applying some cologne to his checks. Between squirts he would lift one of the many desks off of the floor that were scattered around the room. Without speaking, the children obediently pulled a chair up and sat in their normal spot. Everyone waited twiddling his or her thumbs nervously until Gill was ready to speak.

"So… I suppose we need to discuss what happened yesterday."

Heath involuntarily gulped. It wasn't from fear- just nervousness about whether school would really be canceled.

"I have to say that what happened was very... enlightening," he continued. All squinted in confusion.

"Though locking yourselves up inside the school was very dangerous and irresponsible, you have pointed out a mistake of our own- the way by which we approach school. First off, where are all of the textbooks?"

"I… um… a pipe burst, and all of books were ruined. We went ahead and threw them away for you," Roy lied.

Gill frowned. "That is unfortunate. Thank you for taking care of that situation, Roy. The good news is we won't be needing them anymore, anyways."

Gill failed to notice the eyes gleaming around the room in anticipation. "The school is officially-."

Heath and Roy jumped out of their chairs together shouting, "-Closing!"

"-Adopting a new approach. Instead of learning from restrictive books, we will now engage solely in class discussion for academic purposes. Your teacher will personally lead conversations with you to stimulate learning. This is to promote diverse perspectives."

In movies, there is always that moment when the music changes and it tries to make you think that the good guys are about to lose or that the guy and the girl aren't going to get together. This felt like one of those moments. All of the student's eyes in the classroom, from Van to Roy, turned towards Heath in anger. School wasn't canceled- in fact, it was worse. Now they had to listen to Gill ramble on and on even more than before. It was a disaster.

Of course, like any good movie, that moment of apprehension is quickly cut down by the glorious victory of our heroes.

"I have one last thing to say before I go," Gill said. Everyone turned back to face their teacher. "I'm afraid that I have failed you. And I know how well everyone gets along with Mr. Calvin. For that reason, I am resigning from my job as teacher. Mr. Calvin will teach you from now on. I wish you all the very best... Please let me know how things work out."

The change in emotion was so abrupt that there was no time to react at all. The only responses that occurred were the turning of heads as the children watched Gill cross the room towards the door and welcome Calvin. The two shook hands before Gill made one last wave and left.

Just like that, Gill was no more as a teacher. While the original goal of the revolution had failed, Heath's earnest zeal brought about another kind of success. School may have survived, but it would never be boring again with Calvin, Heath's father, in charge of things.

The process was a slow one initially, but the excitement in the room gradually swelled up as Calvin sat his jacket on the table and tipped his hat.

"Gill has done you well… but I'm glad to be here. From now on, I'll be your new-."

Finally, the usual suspects jumped out of their chairs and hugged Calvin with joyous applause (Van only lowered his head even further into his book). The new teacher chuckled in return.

* * *

Sometimes, people forget to be thankful for those who served them most. Lucy, Dakota, and Matt never remembered to acknowledge Heath for his leadership. Lucy was even quoted later as having testified that it was her idea all along. Our hero was disappointed to be taken for granted, but he took it with dignity.

It wasn't until after class, in the radiant light of the fresh weekend, that Heath got the recognition he deserved. He was with Roy, out on the beach of Castanet casually digging shallow holes in the sand out of boredom.

"Well," Heath suggested as he spun a finger in the moist sand. "We really did pull it off."

Roy smiled as he extended his foot to the waterline. "Na, brother. You- you did it."

It was all Heath needed. Even one good friend who he knew he could count on was enough.

The two sat out there relaxing in the waves lazily drifting up the shoreline for another hour, conversing about all that had happened over the past day. They were later seen heading home, walking side by side, laughing with youthful vigor all the way.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Thoughts? Do you have a favorite character? A least favorite? (there's a lot to pick from! And yes, "me" (the narrator) counts!) Or do you want to point out a correction or just how not cool this story is? Please, leave a review! If you sign in, I can respond if you have anything you wish to know about. Thanks for reading! (or looking at the beginning and then scrolling to the end!)


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